Medronho, Firewater of the Algarve

It seems that every country that we have visited, has their own brand of homemade moonshine, or firewater.

Portugal has Aguardente de Medronhos, or simply Medronho.

In the mountains around Monchique, there grows a wild tree, Arbutus Unedo or the Strawberry tree, that produces a small fruit that looks more than a small lychee fruit than a strawberry. Local farmers pick the innocent-looking berries of the trees growing on their land and distil their own brandy at home. Producing up to 30 litres for their own use is allowed.

From October to December, people pick 7 - 10 kilos of ripe, red-orange berries to make one litre of brandy. The berries are put into a barrel and stays there to ferment for 2 to 3 months.

Distillation is best done in the traditional way - over a low fire and by using a copper alambique as a distillation device. Afterwards, the liquid is tested by rubbing some of it on your hands. It’s a good Medronho if you can smell the fruit after the alcohol has evaporated.


The people call this strong spirit, ‘firewater’. This makes sense: ‘água ardente’ is Portuguese for ‘burning water’ and the liquid, with an alcohol content which varies between 40 and 50%, burns like heck when we swallowed it.

Medronho is Portugal’s best-known fruit brandy. Traditionally, farmers in rural Portuguese areas would start the day with a shot of Medronho in order to ‘wake their spirits’.

Because of their high pectine content, Medronho berries are also used to make jams and preserves. Rich in antioxidants, they’re viewed as good for your health. In folk medicine, the leaves are used as well; it’s believed that kidney and bladder problems could be treated by drinking tea made of Medronho leaves.Read more